12 Surprising Problems You Notice Moving Back Home After Living Abroad

“Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving” ~ Terry Pratchett.

When moving back home after living abroad, you’re bound to notice differences in even the smallest of things when you finally return. These smaller “first world problems” might be enough to make you groan but there are also meaningful dilemmas that may be reason for you to convince others why they should never become an expat.

When an opportunity arose for me to move to Wellington, New Zealand I literally jumped at it. I got so used to living there after 8 months that I almost forgot what life was like back home in Australia. Really! I’ve written more about my experience in Wellington and why earthquakes can be likened to your little brother.

Compared to others I know spending 8 months abroad is not a long time, although it was to me. But why? How is living abroad – even temporarily – different to living at home?

Here are 12 surprising problems I was confronted with on my arrival home that meant I’d been away for too long. Maybe you’ll able to relate to these too, particularly if your trip was for business and you were fortunate enough to be put up in a hotel or serviced apartment for an extended period.

If you want to see how many of these problems you can relate to, or are just curious about what to expect after living life abroad, read on for more!

When moving back home after living abroad, you suddenly realise…

1. You’re slamming everything

Doors, kitchen cupboards and drawers in your home get a brutal treatment in the first few days because the ones you got used to needed more force to close. You also try opening these things in all the wrong areas.

2. You have a new appreciation for sharp knives and decent cookware

Seriously, some of the communal kitchen equipment in hotels and serviced apartments completely ruins my day. It’s one of the first things I notice expats say about living in a different place – BYO kitchen utensils.

3. Your TV and fridge are suddenly giant

Compared to the size of hotel ones, since when was your old TV like being at the movie theatre?! You also realise you should win some kind of international Tetris award for the way you got used to squeezing your grocery shopping into a fridge not too much bigger than a mini-bar one.

4. There’s awkward waking moments

That split second you think you’re still in your abroad bedroom when you wake up. It’s surreal in the first few mornings as your brain doesn’t quite register where you are, you’ve been living abroad too long.

5. You have teleporting doorhandles

One of the first things you notice when moving back home after living abroad is some kind of fairy has shifted all the doorhandles in your home up or down several inches during your absence. When you reach for them, they seem to be in a different spot to what you’ve been used to.

6. Your home appliances are actually simple

Suddenly your microwave is easier to use than you previously thought, due to the weird buttons and sequences required on your hotel one. This also applies to white goods. Who knew you needed a zillion different buttons to get a clothes dryer working?

7. You’re no longer royalty

If you’ve been put up in a hotel or serviced apartment by your employer, it’s likely you’ll have the luxury of housekeeping. Having this frequent service made you feel like you belonged in some sort of Royal Family. Those days are now over and you need to clean up after yourself. Ha.

8. You’re confusing your cupboards

You forgot what supplies you have in your home cupboards as you mix them up with the recent stuff you had abroad. Like, you know you bought a small tomato sauce recently, but… Oh, it’s in the abroad pantry.

9. You feel like a foreigner in your home city

For me, coming back home to Australia and hearing Aussie accents again unexpectedly made everyone sound bogan… Sorry guys, it’s true! After having to adjust your vocabulary to your abroad country, what does all this mean again??

10. Realise the same temperature can feel drastically different

For instance, 18°C/64°F may usually be quite a warm day where you were living abroad. If you’ve returned home to a country with quite high humidity you’ve probably forgotten that 18°C/64°F is actually bloody freezing! Time to dig out those Ugg boots instead of throwing on a t-shirt.

11. It takes a while to get used to your home currency again

Until now you didn’t notice some coins from home were large enough to be used as doorstops… Or that awkward moment when you say to the cashier “Oh, I’ve got that extra dollar” when you’re sifting through your wallet for change but the currency you’re meant to be using is the Euro or other currency. It’s the little things!

Concluding what it’s like moving home after living abroad

These niggly things were just a few that greeted me when I tried to get back to normal life home in Australia. I had never lived anywhere else prior to my stint in New Zealand so I had no idea what to expect! Hopefully these little nuances have given you a little insight into what it’s like moving home after living abroad, as well as given you a chuckle if you were able to relate to them.

Do you have any others you realised when moving back home after living abroad? What things surprised you? I’d love to hear what you noticed when you moved back home to add to this list!

If you have always wondered what it’s like living in a specific city around the world, be sure to check out my “Be Invisible” Series – it the ultimate guide to help you NOT look like a tourist, written by locals I’ve reached out to across the globe!

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